


Errand

by Maiika



Series: Old West AU [11]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Western
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 15:04:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16088552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiika/pseuds/Maiika
Summary: While the other Saiyan bandits indulge in some barbaric training methods aimed at their youngest member, Raditz is sent to get the water.He hates it.  Until he doesn't.





	Errand

He hated this.

 

Raditz was getting used to Vegeta's ways. Nappa catered to Vegeta like he was royalty, as if he reined some authority over their group. Although Nappa would be in his right as the eldest of them to take control, Nappa chose not to because he feared Vegeta. Vegeta was volatile, outright hostile to all of them ever since the incident in their hometown. Raditz wasn't happy about it either, but nobody catered to _his_ wants and demands. His own little brother was no help. Especially at times like right now.

 

“Vegeta,” Raditz said, swinging the metal pail in his grip by its rigid, crooked arm, “let me do it. He's _my_ brother. I should toughen him up.”

 

“You _should've_ done it,” Vegeta snarled over his shoulder, “when you had the chance. Now it's up to me. I'm not getting myself killed out here because we have a weak link.”

 

“Weak Saiyans,” Nappa laughed. “We're building such a reputation for ourselves, you'd think that thought would be impossible.”

 

“But it's not,” Vegeta growled, turning his eyes back to Kakarot, raising his fists, “because _I_ say we have a weak link. If anything, Raditz could use some training, too.”

 

Kakarot stood across from Vegeta, glaring. Blood trailed from his swollen lip, red and viscous, while his dark, bruising eyes darted to Raditz again and again. Raditz clenched his jaw and stared back at the kid. Kakarot was so stupid. He'd brought this on himself. If he'd only shot the bank teller like they told him to, none of this would be happening now. He dug his own grave. Raditz wasn't about to let himself get dragged down in there with him.

 

Raditz spat. The clay dirt and a cactus near his boots were showered before he looked back up at Vegeta. He respected Vegeta as much as he hated him. Nappa and Kakarot, he had no respect for. But _Vegeta_ was keeping them alive. It was his ruthlessness that allowed them to thrive and survive, to build this reputation they'd gained throughout the West. Raditz loathed the thought that his brother, or especially he himself, could be pointed out as the group's weakness. Almost as if to prove this point, Vegeta was sending Raditz to fetch their fucking water, while making a punching bag of his twelve-year-old brother.

 

Without warning, Vegeta threw his fist in Kakarot's unguarded face, knocking the kid to the ground for the seventh time this bout. Raditz shook his head as his brother hit the dirt with a grunt. Kakarot's moans of discomfort as he struggled to get on his feet again did nothing to sway Raditz's sympathies. Kakarot had to learn to stop acting like a fool. He was going to get them all caught one day if he kept this up. He was going to get himself caught. He needed to toughen up. Raditz was ashamed of his little brother for not being tougher than this already. He didn't care that Kakarot was still a kid. Technically, he and Vegeta weren't adults yet, either, but they were toughing it out. They had no more problem killing in the course of action than Nappa did. Raditz was willing to do whatever it took to survive, even walking away from his beaten kid brother.

 

“Fine,” Raditz said, ignoring Vegeta's cruel chuckle. “I'll get the damn water.”

 

“Make sure that bucket's full!” Nappa yelled after him. “Hey, Vegeta. Hit 'im again.”

 

Raditz turned for the trees. Sparse pines lined the wooded area bordering the stream which was their greatest and most frequent source of water. The only benefit to being the one retrieving the water was his ability to take plenty for himself right from the source. He could bathe, he could drink all he wanted, and he could take a piss without anyone looking over his shoulder while he was alone on this short hike.

 

Kakarot's furious scream resonated across the barren landscape. Raditz's eyes widened as he turned just in time to see Vegeta stumbling backward, cupping a trembling hand around his mouth. Raditz panted as he watched his brother seething at Vegeta, balling his small fists in front of his face as if he actually knew how to use them.

 

“Well, shit,” Nappa drawled, scratching his bald head as he looked at Vegeta. “Vegeta, why'd you let him get one in?”

 

Vegeta started to growl, but that growl quickly grew into a scream. He pointed a rigid finger at Kakarot, who bared his teeth at Vegeta. The corner of Kakarot's swollen lip pulled up ever so slightly, issuing Vegeta a challenging smile. Raditz groaned and turned around. He didn't need to look toward the sounds he heard next to know that grunting and scuffling was Kakarot getting beaten mercilessly by Vegeta. The kid never learned. He needed to stop antagonizing Vegeta, and the best way for him to learn that was if his big brother didn't step in to help him. Raditz wouldn't be surprised if by the time he got back here, Nappa had joined in on the beating. Some training Kakarot was getting. Could be worse, though. Raditz could be taking part in all of this, and on the _wrong_ side of it.

 

Raditz heaved a long, heavy breath as he trekked across rocky terrain and tumbleweeds, heading for the pines. He assured himself he should be relieved, being acquitted of training his brother and allowed this short reprieve from the rest of them. Yet as he walked, he continuously ground his teeth. He could hear the beatings continuing, distant and quiet as the screams were picked up by the wind, but still present. Raditz hoped his parents were in some peaceful afterlife, unaware of what he was doing now. The teen who allowed their beloved Kakarot to have such a difficult childhood was not the future Raditz they foresaw before tragedy took them both from Earth too soon.

 

The sounds of screams were drowned out completely when the babble of the river hit Raditz's ears. He relished the faint sounds and approached them with zeal. As the watery rush of the stream grew louder, Raditz's guilt about his brother's misfortune dissipated. By the time he reached it, shimmering in the sunlight and moving in a crystalline sheen before his eyes, Raditz was happy to sink beside it on his knees.

 

He couldn't imagine why he'd been unsatisfied with this task. Raditz threw the bucket to the pebbled ground, which rattled as it rolled toward the weeds lining the river bank. He scooped his hands into the icy water, which made him gasp and feel a thrill of excitement at the same time. Raditz splashed it on his face, the icy contact initially taking his breath away. When he removed his hands from his face, it was as if he could _smell_ the crisp pines and feel every beat of warmth from the sun above prickling at his exposed skin.

 

Raditz stood to shed his clothing. He wanted to feel these sensations all over his body, to shed this odor which accompanied him and the others everywhere they went when opportunities to bathe were in short supply. When his vest hit the ground and his boots flew off his feet to hit the metal bucket, Raditz made quick work of his buttons. He peeled his shirt away, enjoying the freedom from confinement. He could see why his brother loved this so much, though he wouldn't dare tell the kid that, or Kakarot would probably spend more time running around in the wilderness naked than he should. Once Raditz's pants were stacked on top of his abandoned clothes, Raditz dived into the water.

 

He sank into the cold, embracing the pain hitting his skin like fine needles. He wanted to feel all of it. In this life, with all this shit he hated, no place to call home anymore, and all these difficulties he had to endure with his crew, sensation was what he craved. He wanted the sensation of a full belly, of a softly curved woman straddling his hips, of a gentle hand stroking his hair from his scalp. But for now, he would settle for this wet and refreshing sensation.

 

His long hair proved resistant to the water, half of it floating dry on the surface, while the other half sank beneath the water and dragged in the current. The resistance forced Raditz to slow down and move at the leisurely pace of his hair. It made him enjoy and appreciate every moment of settling into this water. Raditz scrubbed his hands over his body, feeling his skin slick and smooth beneath the water's surface while he rubbed it free of any dirt or oil lingering on him. He dipped his chin beneath the water, smiling as the water pooled into his open mouth. It swirled down his throat, offering his insides the same refreshment it was providing to his outsides. With a sigh, Raditz launched backward, letting his back float on the cushion of his hair, letting his body sink freely until his head plunged entirely beneath the water's surface. Scrunching his eyes shut, Raditz hovered in this place beneath the dense pressure of the water, in the shade from the harsh sun. He made a point of remembering this moment. He would never forget the way this water felt, or how it managed to make him forget about everything, if only for a moment.

 

When Raditz leapt above the surface, gasping for air to fill his burning lungs, he recalled everything at once. He recalled the mostly unfair pounding his brother was suffering. He recalled the way Vegeta would threaten him with the same treatment if he said a word against it. He recalled the cruel laughter and mockery he endured as fire burned down their hometown, engulfing his parents and everyone else he knew with it. He tried to bury that memory, but it seemed he never could, not even in a tranquil moment such as this one.

 

With a sigh, Raditz stepped out of the water. He rang his hair in a knot, watching the water drip from his long black locks like a running faucet. He turned to his clothes, not caring that he was mostly still wet. He needed to fill that damn bucket. He needed to get back to camp with Nappa, Vegeta, and his puny brother. Kakarot would need some first aid after his “training”.

 

The good thing was, Raditz knew Kakarot was learning this time. He'd never gotten a hit in on Vegeta before. If there was anything Raditz had in common with his strange little brother, it was that neither of them would admit to being weak. Kakarot would, little by little, learn to hold his own against Vegeta and toughen up to become an impressive outlaw. Raditz would continue to play it smart. In the meantime, they'd build up their reputation as the most dangerous bandits in the West, and hopefully, one day, be tough enough to confront the monster who had destroyed their past and delivered them into this hellish lifestyle.

 


End file.
